Work support for button-sewing machines



Jan. 3, 1928. 1,655,067

R. L. LYONS WORK SUPPORT FOR BUTTON SEWING MACHINES Filed Feb.l4. 1923E' P w I Ai 4 f G "z D x L t al; f ll y l 1 A1 v D1l D H O J D2 Q X INVEN TOR Maw gam WWW.

ATTORNEY lPatented Jan. 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.Y

ROBERT I. LYONS, OF WAITHAM, MASSACHUSETTSF .ASSIGNOR TO FREDERICK OSANNCOMPANY, or New YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK..

WORK SUPPORT FOR BUTTON-SEWING MACHINES.

Application iled February 14, 1923. Serial No. 618,889.

Thewgeneral object of my present invention is to provide an improvedwork holder for button sewing machines comprising simple and eii'ectiveprovisions `for holding a stay button in register with a main buttonduring the operation of sewing them to an -interposed garment or otherarticle. A more specic object of my invention is to provide a staybutton clamp especially adapted for lo use as a removable attachment toa widely used type of button sewing machine work supportinterchangeablywith the under support for tl/ie\work ordinarily employedin the usual buttonsewing operations.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention arepointed out with JIparticularity in the claims annexed to and orming a,part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention,its advantages and specific objects attained vwith its use, referenceshould be had to the accompanying drawings andi descriptive matter inwhich Ihave illustrated and described preferred embodiments of myinvention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the work holder;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of a Y sewing machiney equippedwith the work holder of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2 with partsbroken away and in section;

Fig. 4 is la partial section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; j

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a small scale plan of the stay button clamp portion of thework holder.

In the drawings I have illustrated the application of my invention to asewing machine of the type in which the work holder comprises a supportB, mounted on the bed A of asewing machine, andfmoved relatively to thelatter to successively present di'erent thread holes of the buttons tothe needle A carried by the lreciprocating needle bar A2.

The work holder support B, as shown, is'

pivotally connected to the bed A of the sewing machine by means of apivot screw A3V carried by the bed and passing through an elongated slotB in the work holder support. The support 4B is given reciprocatingmovements toward and away from theneedle and transversely of the latterby means comprising levers A* and A's mounted on the bed-A and plvotallyconnected to the support B. The support B is provided with ears B2 inwhich the main button clamp supporting lever C is journalled on thepivot pin or axle B3. To the front end ofl the lever C 1s secured themain button'clamp D which as shown comprises clamping jaws D at theoppos1te sides of the main button X, and a button centering finger orjaw D2. D3 represents an operating part by which the jaws D and D2 maybe moved away from the axis of the button to release, or permit. theinsertion of a main button X. A spring E acting on the rear end of thebutton clamping lever C normally depresses the button clamp D to therebyhold an inserted button X snugly against the fabric. A chain F connectedt0 the button clamp D forms part of the mechanlsm, usually treadleactuated, for lifting the button clamp D to permit the insertion andremoval of the work.

In so far as above described, the work holder and button clamping meansdisclosed contain nothing now novel with me, but on the contrary, is ofthe standard type which is employed on a majority of the button sew- 111machines now in use 1n this country.

y novel stay button clamp attachment comprises a late-like member Gattached to 4the front en of the support B by screws H.

The member G is formed at its front end, a

with a passage G large enough to permit the passage of the needle andneedle thread in the i'erent relative positions of the needle and workAholder. Pivotally connected to the member G, as by the vertical pivotscrews J, are a pair of iiat plate-like stay but-ton clamping jaws I.The jaws I are formed with opposed button receiving recesses I2, theedges of which areppreferably serrated as shown, and each jaw I carriesat its under side a pivot pin or stud I working in a corresponding slotK in a jaw operating member K. The latter works in a recess G2 in-thevmember G, and is formed with an elongated guide portion K2 workingin a slot G5 formed. in the member G. Resilient means are provided fornormally ressing the mem- ;ber K forward, so that t e oppositelyinclined slots Kf will draw the two studs I together, and thereby causethe jaws I to grip the opposite edges. The resilient means shown forthispur ose, comprise a helical compression spring s surrounding a guideagainst the coupling L.

rod L secured by a coupling member L to the member K. One end of thespring L bears against the coupling member L,while the other end bearsagainst a stud G* carried by the member G, and providedwith an aperturein which the corresponding end of the .member L is slidingly received.The stud G4 passes through a slot K2 formed in the guide K. The member Kmay be retracted to spread the jaws I, at the time of inserting orreleasing a stay button, by means of a lever M pivotally connected tothe member G, as by a pivot screw M, and bearing O represents a staybutton clamp cover member secured to the member K as by means of thescrews O', and cut away or recessed at its underside, as shown, toprovide clearance for the movable parts of the stay button clamp. There-r cessed cover plate O in conjunctionwith the plate member G forms achambered casing which is arranged with the projecting portion of theplate G forming an extension of the bottom wall of the casing. At itsfront" end, the cover O terminates in prongs O2 which fit closely overthe stay button clamping jaws I, and hold the fabric to which t ebuttons are being attached, away from all other movable parts of thestay button clamp.

In the intended operation of the apparatus disclosed, the stay button Zis put in place between the clamping jaws I which are spread apart forthe purpose by -pressure applied to `the lever M. Ordinarily -andpreferably the stay button is thus put in place with the main buttonclamp D elevated, and prior to the insertion of the main button X, sothat the operator can readily place the stay button Z in the position inwhich the thread holes in the stay button are properly disposed. Themain button X is then put in place in the button holder D and thegarment or other article to which the buttons are to be sewed isproperly placed between the stay and main buttons, yafter which the mainbutton holder D is allowed to move dwn under the tension of the spring Eand thereby clamp the `interposed garment or other article in placewhile the sewing machine mechanism 1s operated to sew the main and staybuttons thereto. In the types of button sewingmachine i-n most generaluse in this country,the work holder D is raised at the conclusion of thebutton sewing operation, to lift thel 4main button and attached workand'thereby breakv the thread at the under side of the work. With thepresentv apparatus when the work is thus lifted pressure may be appliedto the lever M, to spread the stay button clamping jaws I, so that thelifting of the work will not be impeded by thegripping action of thestay button clamping jaws I on the stay button. In general, however, thegrip of the ,main button is withdrawn from the main button clamp and themachine is then ready for another button sewing operation.

In the type of button sewing machine in which the work is moved relativeto `the machine bed, to present different button thread holes to theneedle, the work support must comprise a part interposed between the bedof the sewing machine proper and the work on which the latter rests andagainst which it is ordinarily clamped by the main-button clamp. In thetype of work holder in most general use on button sewing machines, thiswork supporting platform part is aplatelike member commonly called acloth plate or cloth support, which is attached to the work holdersupport B by the screws H. The special stay button clamp illustratedlherein is adapted for attachment to the support B iny lieu of theordinary cloth plate with which it may be interchangeably used. The staybutton clamp construction illustrated possesses the advantage that itforms l an effective device for holding the stay button in place withthe desired security,"and in which the buttons may be readily andaccurately put in place, while at the same time.

work is held in the sewing operation diminishes the amount of lift whichcan be imparted to the main button yclamp in the thread breakingoperation. This lift is not great in any event as it must terminateshort of the level of the lower end of the needle when the latter is inits elevated position. The cutting away of the cover member O betweenthe prong portions O2 provides clearance for the main button centeringlinger D2, and thusfadds tothe compactness of the apparatus as a whole.The manner in which the jaws I are mounted and operated, permits of arange of jaw movement ample to take care of stay buttons of verydiferent sizes. The location 'of the free end of the lever M alongside`the operating part D3 of the main button clamp is convenient for theoperator, and facilitates the rapid and accurate insertion of the staybuttons.

With the described construction, the garment or other article to whichbuttons are being sewed, is securely gripped between the main button andthe main button clamping and centering jaws D and D2 acting on the upperside of the article, and either or both the stay button and the staybutton clamping jaws I acting on the underside of the work. Preferablythe parts are so proportioned that in sewing relatively big mainbuttons,

such as over-coat buttons, on relatively heavy Work (where the greatestwork clamping force is required,) all or a considerable portion of thepressure transmitted by the main button and main button clamp throughthe work to the under support for the latter will be borne by theclamping jaws I, but whether this pressure is transmitted through thework to the stay button itself or to the jaws I, it assists inpreventing' displacement of the stay button, since when the portion ofthis pressure borne by the clamping jaws I acts frictionally to preventthe latter from spreading. To increase this frictional holding effect,the upper sides of the jaws I may be roughened as indicated at I3.

The serration of the button engaging edges I2 of the clamping jaws I,also desirably assists in holding the stay button firmly enough toprevent its displacement under the stresses imposed on it during theinitial portion of the button sewing operation. These stresses are duelargely to the lateral pull on the stay button of the thread loopspassing from the holes in the stay button to the rotary looper or otherstitch forming mechanism beneath the work, and are due in part to theneedle itself. The displacement stresses due to the needle arise fromthe fact that in the practical operation of a button sewing machine, theneedle is required to bend to accommodate inaccurate register of theneedle and the button thread holes caused by inevitable inaccuracy inthe placing of the buttons in the button clamps and by nonuniformity inshape of the buttons.- The special form of the serrated edges I2 of theclamping jaws I enable those jaws to securely hold stay buttons ofdifferent sizes.

IVhile the button clamping attachment in the form ilustrated wasespecially devised for use in connection with the work holder of asewing machine in which the work is moved transversely to the needle tosuccessively present different button thread holes to the needle, theinvention in its general aspects is well adapted for use in buttonsewing machines of different type, and part-icularly in button sewingmachines in which the needle is'moved transversely to its line ofreciprocation to successively engage different thread holes in astationary button.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I haveillustrated and described the best forms of my invention now known tome, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that some changes inform may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention asset forth in the appended claims, and that some features of my inventionmay sometimes be used to advantage Without a corresponding use ot othereatures.

I-Iaving now described my invent-ion, what y I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a work holder for button sewing machines, the combination with asupport of a main button clamp mounted on said support, and a staybutton clamp mounted on said support beneath said main button grippedbetween them, and jaw operating means including a movable jaw engaging`part and a spring located Within said casing.

2. In a Work holder for button sewing machines, the combination with a.support of a main button clamp mounted on said support, and a staybutton clamp mounted on said support beneath said main button clamp andseparated therefrom by a Work receiving space, said stay button clampco1n' prising a chambered casing having a wall extension, and buttonclamping jaws mount` ed within said casing and comprising flattenedbutton engaging portions projecting from said casing over said extensionand having their adjacent edges shaped to provide serrated seats forstay buttons of different sizes, and jaw operating means including amovable jaw engaging part and a spring located within said casing.

3. In a work holder for button sewing machines, the combination with asupport of a main button clamp mounted on said support, and a staybutton clamp mounted on said support beneath said main button clamp andseparated therefrom by a work receiving space, said stay button clampcomprising a chambered casing having a wall extension, relativelymovable button clamping jaws mounted within said casing and comprisingbutton engaging portions projecting from said casing over said extensionand roughened at their upper sides to provide a c oth supporting surfaceat the margin of a stay button gripped between them, whereby theVtendency of downwardly acting pressure transmitted to said jaws throughcloth'extending over said roughened sides to prevent movement of thejaws relative to one another and to said cloth is augmented.

. 4. A staybutton clamp for a button sewmg machine comprising achambered casing having a wall extension, and relatively movable buttonclamping jaws mounted within lll said casing .and comprising flattenedbutton engaging portions projecting fromv said casing over saidextension and roughened at their upper sides to provide a clothsupporting surface at the margin of a stay button gripped between them,whereby the tendency of downwardly actingnpressure transmitted to saidjaws through cloth extending over said roughened sides to preventmovement of the jaws relative to one another and to said cloth isaugmented.

5. ln a work holder for button sewing machines, the combination with asupport of a main button clamp mounted on said f support, and a staybutton clamp mounted on said support beneath said main button clamp andseparated therefrom by a work receiving space, said stay button clampcomprising a ehambered casing with a plate-like extension formed with aneedle opening, button clamping jaws mounted within said casing andprovided with button engaging portions resting on said extension andmovable toward and away from one another to grip and release the edgesof a button resting on said extension at the margin of said needleopening, said extension being formed with a recess in its upper side andoperating means for said jaws including a spring and a movable part.mounted in said recess.

6. A work holder for button sewing machines, comprising a support, amain button clamp pivotally connected to said support and comprising theusual side gripping jaws D and central centering finger D2, a. staybutton clamp secured to said support beneath said main button clamp andcomprising .a chambered casing with` a plate-like extension at its frontend, a pair ot' stay button clamping jaws mounted in said casing andhaving relatively movable button clamping jaws projecting from saidcasing over said extension, the upper portion of said casing beingshaped to provide extensions at its front end extending one over each ofthe last mentioned clamping jaws at opposite sides of said centeringfinger.

7 A work holder for button sewing machines, comprising a support, a mainbutton clamp connected to said support andcomprising button engagingjaws and an operating part D3 for giving relative movements to saidjaws, a stay button clamp secured to said support beneath said mainbutton clamp and comprising button clamping jaws, and means for movingthe last mentioned jaws to grip and release stay buttons of differentsizes, said means comprising an operating member located adjacent saidoperating part whereby said operating member and operating part arereadily accessible for simultaneous operation by the operator.

Signed at Boston in the county of Suiolk and State of Massachusetts thisseventh day of February, A. D. 1923.

ROBERT L. LYONS.

